Already to their wormy beds are gone; For fear left day fhould look their fhames upon, I with the morning's love have oft made sport 9; Enter Lyfander. Lyf. Where art thou, proud Demetrius ? speak thou now. 91 with the morning's love have oft made fport ;] Thus all the old copies, and I think, rightly. Tithonus was the husband of Aurora, and Tithonus was no young deity. So, in The Fawne, by J. Marston, 1606: "Aurora yet keeps chafte old Tithan's bed; "Yet blushes at it when she rises." Again, in Aurora, a collection of fonnets, by lord Sterline, 1604: And why fhould Tithon thus, whofe day grows late, "Enjoy the morning's love." Again, in Spenfer's Faery Queen, b. iii. c. 3: As faire Aurora rifing haftily, "Doth by her blushing tell that she did lye Again, in the Faithful Shepherdess of Beaumont and Fletcher : "Thou shame-fac'd morning, when from Tithon's bed "Thou rifeft ever-maiden !" How fuch a waggish spirit as the King of the Fairies might make fport with an antiquated lover, or his mistress in his abfence, may be eafily understood. Dr. Johníon reads with all the modern editors, "I with the morning light, &c," STEEVENS. 8 Puck. Puck. Here villain; drawn and ready. Where art thou? Lyf. I will be with thee straight. To plainer ground. [Lyf. goes out, as following Dem. Enter Demetrius. Dem. Lyfander! fpeak again. Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled.? head '? Puck. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the ftars, Telling the bushes that thou look'st for wars, I'll whip thee with a rod: He is defil'd, Dem. Yea; art thou there? Puck. Follow my voice; we'll try no manhood Lyf. He here. Re-enter Lyfander. [Exeunt. goes before me, and ftill dares me on; When I come where he calls, then he is gone. The villain is much lighter-heel'd, than I: I follow'd faft, but fafter he did fly; That fallen am I in dark uneven way, And here will reft me. Come, thou gentle day! [Lies down. For if but once thou fhew me thy grey light, I'll find Demetrius, and revenge this fpight. Speak in fome bush: where doft thou hide thy head?] This paffage is printed thus in all the editions. The fenfe I think would be clearer if the pointing were regulated thus: Speak. In fome bufb? where doft thou hide thy head? STEEVENS. Re Re-enter Puck and Demetrius. Puck. "Ho, ho, ho! coward, why comeft thou not? Dem. Abide me, if thou dar'st: for well I wot, Thou runn'ft before me, fhifting every place; And dar'ft not ftand, nor look me in the face. Where art thou? Puck. Come hither; I am here. Dem. Nay, then thou mock'ft me. Thou shalt buy this dear 3, If ever I thy face by day-light fee: Now, go thy way. Faintnefs conftraineth me Enter Helena. [Lies down. Hel. O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate thy hours; fhine, comforts from the east; That I may back to Athens, by day-light, From these that my poor company deteft :And, fleep, that fometime fhuts up forrow's eye, Steal me a while from mine own company. [Sleeps. Puck. Yet but three? come one more; Two of both kinds makes up four. Here fhe comes, curft, and fad :— Cupid is a knavifh lad, Thus to make poor females mad. 2 Ho, ho, bo! coward why comeft thou not ?] It may be remarked that this exclamation is peculiar to Puck. In the old Song printed by Peck, in which he relates all his gambols, he concludes verfe with Ho, ho, ho! He here forgets his affumed character. REMARKS. every 3 buy this dear.] i.e. thou shalt dearly pay for this. Though this is fenfe, and may well enough ftand, yet the poet perhaps wrote thou shalt by it dear. So, in another place, thou shalt aby it. So, Milton, "How dearly I abide that beaft fo vain." JOHNSON. Enter Enter Hermia. Her. Never fo weary, never fo in woe, Bedabbled with the dew, and torn with briers; I can no further crawl, no further go; with my defires. My legs can keep no pace Puck. On the ground Sleep found: To your eye, [Lies down. [Squeezing the juice on Lyfander's eye. When thou wak'ft,' Thou tak'ft + True delight In the fight Of thy former lady's eye: And the country proverb known, Jack fhall have Jill'; The man fhall have his mare again, and all fhall be well. [Exit Puck. [They fleep. 4 When thou wak’ft, Thou tak'ft, &c.] The fecond line would be improved I think both in its meafure and construction, if it were written thus. When thou wak'ft, See thou tak'ft, True delight, &c. TYRWHITT. 4 Jack fhall have Jill, &c.] Thefe three laft lines are to be found among Heywood's Epigrams on three hundred Proverbs. STEEVENS. ACT Enter Queen of the Fairies, Bottom, Fairies attending, and the King behind them. Queen. Come, fit thee down upon this flowery bed, While I thy amiable cheeks do coy, And stick mufk-roses in thy fleek smooth head, And kifs thy fair large ears, my gentle joy. Bot. Where's Peafe-bloffom? Peafe. Ready. Bot. Scratch my head, Peafe-bloffom.-Where's monfieur Cobweb? Cob. Ready. Bot. Monfieur Cobweb; good monfieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hip'd humble bee on the top of a thiftle; and, good monfieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action, monfieur; and, good monfieur, have a care the honey-bag break not; I would be loth to have you over-flown with a honey-bag, fignior.Where's monfieur Muftard-feed? Muft. Ready. s I fee no reason why the fourth act fhould begin here, when there feems no interruption of the action. In the old quartos of 1600, there is no divifion of acts, which feems to have been afterwards arbitrarily made in the first folio, and may therefore be altered at pleasure. JOHNSON. -do coy] To coy is to footh, to stroke. So, in the Ar raignment of Paris, 1584: "Plays with Amyntas' lufty boy, and coys him in the dales.” Again, in Warner's Albion's England, 1602. Book vi. ch. 30: "And whilst the coys his footy cheeks, or curls his fweaty top." Again, in fir A. Gorges's tranflation of Lucan, b. ix: his fports to prove, "Coying that pow'rful queen of love." STEEVENS. Bot. |